While there are no firm statistics, professionals have noticed that the majority of businesses that close within the first two years did not have an official grand opening event. Those same pros continue to surmise that if you create a successful grand opening, you'll set the pace for the weeks and months ahead. This has never been truer than it is today, as we see company after company closing its doors or downsizing. But what can be done for your particular business? Which types of grand opening ideas can draw the attention of customers as well as the media?

Bring in the Big Guns... or Cups or Tacos or Puppies or...

\"ideas For Business\"

Here's a phenomenal grand opening idea: Create a giant inflatable balloon of your product or logo and place it on the rooftop of your business. For instance, a Mexican restaurant could place a giant, inflatable taco on its roof with a banner that reads, "Now Open." A local veterinary clinic could put a massive, inflatable puppy or kitten on their rooftop with signage declaring, "Grand Opening!"

Why giant inflatable balloons? Because they attract attention of all sorts. People busily going about their routines don't even notice most of the advertising that comes their way. According to the Newspaper Association of America, Texas A&M University and the Journal of Concerned Scientists, Americans are exposed to well over 3,000 advertising messages each day from a variety of sources. Our senses are on overload and, therefore, most of the ads we view are blocked out.

However, place a 30-foot-tall giant taco up on the roof (higher than most of the other clutter like billboards, storefront banners, etc.) and drivers down your street suddenly wake up and smell the guacamole.

Gain Press Coverage

Your business can make good use of this second grand opening idea: Use inflatables to bring the press to your location. Inflatables are an exceptional way to garner media coverage. While yet another Mexican restaurant grand opening might not be considered news, a restaurant with a giant taco on its roof that drew in massive crowds is.

Likewise, while a photo of a restaurant storefront isn't an overly exciting picture, that massive taco is definitely a photo opp just waiting to happen.

Bring the Crowd Inside

Unless you're hosting a sidewalk sale, having a crowd of customers outside your door won't do you much good. You have to bring the people inside your business. Grand opening idea number three is to use smaller, sealed inflatables as giveaways.

For example, sticking with the same Mexican restaurant theme, you might say the first 100 customers get a free, miniature, inflatable taco. You could create practically anything you want: inflatable mariachi singers, inflatable sombreros... the list is endless. Because everybody loves to get something free - and because they can be branded with your business name and address - sealed inflatables make the perfect giveaways.

As a business, you can't neglect the importance of your grand opening. Use ideas that create a buzz in your community and that will attract the press. When you do it right, you'll find that word-of-mouth advertising kicks in and the business just keeps on coming!

I remember when I was just starting in my sales career, my boss had recommended that I read "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. At the ripe age of 21, I knew it all. I gave him all of the excuses that most people say when they are presented with the idea of reading a book. Whether it was having no time, not wanting to take a break from my sales momentum, or solid ego of not wanting to believe that I did not know everything; I was fighting it all the way.

He then said something that will stick with me forever. He said, "Dave, I have read 11 books so far this year." He then pulled out a notebook which listed the books and ideas that he was able to pull from those books and act on. Then he had another column that displayed money, health, relationship, or other goals. Being that I was 21, money was paramount to me and I quickly added up the numbers listed on the page and came up with nearly 5,000.

Sales

"Did these books earn you 5,000?" I eagerly asked.

"No. What I did with the knowledge that I learned from those books did. Knowledge is not power. Knowledge combined with action is power." He sat back his chair and eagerly looked at me smiling.

I don't know what I looked like at that moment, but I guarantee my mental wheels were spinning at lightning speed. I rushed to the book store and purchased a number of books that I thought I would never read. After a couple of days, nothing changed in my world. However, after about 10 days new ideas and ways of thinking crept into my everyday life. I began to realize the importance of constantly learning and applying what I learned.

My business grew geometrically and I began to accomplish more and more with less and less. Let's face it; great ideas do not care where they come from. My challenge to you is to pick up a book or two and dive into your personal development. The greatest way to predict your future is to create it. Let reading be the genesis of your journey for success!

Read Your Way to Riches!

Dave "The Shef" Sheffield has helped 398,000 people from 59 countries build their businesses. His live programs and best selling books have made him one of the top requested speakers in North America. Visit http://www.theshef.com for more details!

The United States fast food market has seen a healthy rise in growth within the last three years which forecasts can be sustained. The fast food market is forecast to maintain its current growth expectations, with an anticipated Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 2.3% for the five-year period 2005-2010. This is expected to drive the market to a value of .6 billion by the end of 2010. Drivers of growth include increasing numbers of Americans in the workplace, which reduces the amount of time spent on preparing meals at home. In 2010, the United States fast food market is forecast to have a value of .6 billion, an increase of 12.1% since 2005.

Forecast Volume

Market

In 2010, the United States fast food market is forecast to have a volume of 37 billion transactions (Figure 1). This represents an increase of 5.3% since 2005. The CAGR of the market volume in the period 2005-2010 is predicted to be 1%.

Success Factors

Success factors for fast food franchisees will include products and marketing targeted to healthier menu selections, brand consistency, low start-up costs, franchisee support, and consumer convenience. Subway ® represents a poignant example of a fast food franchisee ready for success in the future fast food market. Their strategies transcend the fast food market and apply to many other markets and products.

SWOT Analysis

Subway sandwich shops are well positioned to leverage their strengths and address reasonable threats, weaknesses, and opportunities. The table below highlights these Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Strengths

Size and number stores and channels

Menu reflects demand for fresh, healthy and fast.

Use of non-traditional channels.

Partnering with the American Heart Association.

Worldwide brand recognition.

Customizable menu offerings.

Low franchisee start up costs.

Franchisee training is structured, brief and designed to assure rapid start-up and success.

Weaknesses

Décor is outdated.

Some franchisees are unhappy.

Service delivery is inconsistent from store to store.

Employee turnover is high.

No control over franchise saturation in given market areas.

Opportunities

Continue to Grow Global Business.

Update décor to encourage more dine-in business.

Improve Customer Service Model.

Continue to expand channel opportunities to include event wagons.

Improve franchisee relations.

Experiment with drive-through business.

Expand packaged dessert offerings.

Continue to revise and refresh menu offerings.

Develop more partnerships with movie producers and toy manufacturers to promote new movie releases through children's menu packaging and co-branding opportunities.

Threats

Franchisee unrest or litigation.

Food contamination (spinach).

Competition.

Interest Costs.

Economic downturn.

Sabotage.

Law Suits.

Competitive Analysis

Subway is not without competitive pressures. Chief competitors include Yum! Brands, McDonalds, Wendy's, and Jack in the Box. Yum! Brands are the world's largest, with 33,000 restaurants in over 100 countries. Four of the company's highly recognizable brands, KFC, Pizza Hut, Long John Silver's and Taco Bell, are global leaders of the Mexican, chicken, pizza, quick-service seafood categories. Yum! has a workforce of 272,000 employees and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

McDonald's Corporation (McDonald's) is the world's largest foodservice retailing chain with 31,000 fast-food restaurants in 119 countries. The company also operates restaurants under the brand names 'The Boston Market' and 'Chipotle Mexican Grill'. McDonalds operates largely in the US and the UK and is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois employing 447,000 people.

Wendy's International (Wendy's) operates three chains of fast food restaurants: Wendy's (the third largest burger chain in the world), Tim Horton's, and Baja Fresh. Wendy's operates over 9700 restaurants in 20 countries, has been included in Fortune magazine's list of top 500 US companies, is headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, and employs about 57,000 people.

Jack in the Box owns, operates, and franchises Jack in the Box quick-service hamburger restaurants and Qdoba Mexican Grill fast-casual restaurants and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Target Markets

The increase in sales of the sandwiches has been a result of decreases in consumer interest in hamburgers and fries and increases in demand for healthier options. Sales of sandwiches are growing 15 percent annually, outpacing the 3 percent sales growth rate for burgers and steaks.

Current Marketing Program

A new breed of restaurant is making big gains against the market-saturated hamburger establishments. Termed "fast-casual," these restaurants are dominated by Mexican chains, and sandwich restaurants offering fresh-baked breads and specialty sandwiches.

Responding to evolving consumer expectations for health, fresh, custom-made sandwiches; Subway's marketing program addresses these expectations through a number of approaches. The most notable were the television commercials featuring Jared. These commercials emphasize the healthy aspects of a Subway sandwich by highlighting the 245 pounds Jared lost by eating a Subway sandwich diet. Subway also markets through a national sponsorship in events such as American Heart Association Heart Walks and local events such as triathlons, and children's sports teams.

The Subway example represents marketing and product strategies that are classic examples of focusing on market demand, consumer trends, product leveraging, and innovation. The marketing strategies of creating clear brand recognition, brand and product association, and market demands, have strategically positioned Subway to advance market share into the near future. These marketing strategies are also repeatable fundamental marketing strategies transcending the fast food market. Does your marketing strategy bind brand recognition to products that support your market's future direction?

Mr. McCarty has a proven record of accomplishment in strategic leadership roles for fortune 500 companies. He is an award winning performer in the areas of large-scale operations leadership, strategic planning, senior project management, and significant contributions to the bottom line. Michael has successfully leveraged his leadership skills to provide keen insight, vision, direction, and executive support to financial services firms, information technology firms, and the automotive, credit, and insurance industries. He has been particularly effective in start-up and turnaround situations.

Insisting on integrity, self-reliance, resourcefulness, and ingenuity, Mr. McCarty is an action and solution oriented leader capable of making strong financial contributions to the bottom line. Operational leadership in the areas of process improvements, cost analysis, and innovative revenue generation characterize soundly this veteran executive's distinguished career. For more on Mr. McCarty, please refer to http://www.leadershippinnacle.com

The number one rule to remember in running a successful business is to develop a culture of providing exceptional customer service or you will over time struggle in a competitive market. The best process to find out how service is to learn can be provided is to learn from both your own experiences and other peoples examples.

\"market Research\"

Earning a reputation for excellence

To help your business obtain a reputation for providing excellent customer service there are a number of essential trade secrets that need to be followed. One scheme many businesses use these days is to arrange brain storming sessions during staff meetings and training programmes to discuss the type of service delivered by other successful companies. By discussing examples with staff it helps your own organization to deliver quality superior customer service. Also by recognizing the positive contribution staff make for the business morale and team spirit is boosted. This can be done through bonus or incentive payment schemes or introducing for example a 'salesman of the month' award.

The following are some questions that may identify whether your business is providing just basic or excellent examples of good customer service.

Background knowledge. Is the employee trained to know the core business and can effectively supply the customer's with what they require?

Image. Is the employee friendly and project a good image and manner to the customer?

Difficult customers. Does the employee deal with difficult customers with courtesy and respect?

Helpfulness. Is the employee helpful and ensures customer requirements are met?

Going the extra mile. Does the employee regularly exceed standards by going the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service?

8 Examples of Good Customer Service

Friendly staffEnsure employees who are hired to deal with customers on a daily basis especially at first point-of-contact or in reception areas have a friendly, positive and helpful personality. Employees should have a good knowledge of the business. Engaging employees who already have customer service credentials is an advantage as it indicates they already have the skills and a commitment to customer service.

Appreciating employees A happy employee will feel valued and provide customers with good service. A salary that offers staff discounts and other incentives will appeal to employees and indicates the company cares about them. Providing opportunities for staff development through training programmes encourages and motivates staff.

Modern technologyCustomers can become annoyed and frustrated when put on hold and left waiting by automated phone systems. The overuse of this type of technology can sometimes be counter productive and cause losses to the business bottom line.

Customer issuesComplaints need to be dealt with swiftly. By delaying dealing with customer issues can lead to your business losing a valued customer. By sorting problems out can unlock the door to sales and help your business gain an edge over the competition..

Improving serviceAlways treat your customers with respect and courtesy. When dealing with issues find out as much as you can about the problem as it could help you to refine and improve existing services.

Thanking the customer Always thank your customers for dealing with your business. Most customers' appreciate being valued and will remember the helpful service your business provided that will result in customer loyalty and repeat business.

Going the extra mileSome customer's may be in a hurry so ensure they are dealt with promptly as it could be the difference between selling and not selling a product. Consumers appreciate businesses going the extra mile by taking care of their needs and can result in repeat business.

Customer feedbackLook at canvassing your customer's through online satisfaction surveys to determine whether your existing services are working. By asking customer's for feedback about your business you will be able to measure and improve your internal systems and services.

When it comes to choosing a creative name for a photography business you need to expand on your own ideas by seeking inspiration from somewhere.

There are many ways to do this. Below we have outlined some of the ways that you can get photography business name ideas for your new or existing studio. We have also put forward some ideas on how you can come up with some great words to incorporate into a company name.

\"ideas For Business\"

Photography Business Name Generators

It would be great if there were such a thing on the Internet but sadly there is not. A great business name has to come from the human mind and cannot be generated by a computer. These mythical online business name generators that you may have heard of simply don't work well in photography or any industry for that matter. They produce results that are far inferior to what you would come up with by yourself.

Seek Professional Advice

Most business owners take on a major role in the decision making process for choosing their business name. However, smart entrepreneurs are now starting to understand that they may not be the best people to make this crucial business decision. It is definitely not a decision that you want to make without seeking advice from a variety of people.

While most business name consultants are way overpriced and will be way out of budget for a small photography startup you may find an experienced local business person or marketing consultant who will offer you some advice for a reasonable price.

Get Inspiration from Other Businesses

To get ideas for naming a photography business you can look at your competitors as well as other creative businesses such as design firms or advertising agencies for inspiration. With the Internet these days you can even look at business names that are in use on the other side of the world.

Avoid Cliches

When you first start brainstorming ideas for photography business names you may come up with some ideas that seem creative, natural or clever. Be careful here though as there are probably dozens of other business owners who had the same idea. Many names like 'A Thousand Words Photography' or 'Picture This Photography' may seem great when you hear them for the first time but they have really been overused in the photography industry.

Getting Creative Ideas from Words

One creative way to come up with some great name ideas is to come up with some relevant words, write them down on pieces of paper and then practice putting them together in a variety of combinations. Here are some ideas for coming up with a great selection of words.

1) Photography Related Words - Start writing down words that you may like to incorporate into your business name. These may include 'photography' related words such as vision, shots, images, media, studio, focus or pictures. 'Photography' is an obvious choice for a word but it is not absolutely essential.

2) Service Related Words - You may also consider words that describe your products or services or the benefits that customers gain from choosing your photography studio over those of your competitors.

3) Emotional Words - Many niches in photography are all about capturing special memories and moments. If you need a good name for a wedding photography business for example then you might consider using some of these words. Words like 'Moment' or 'Memories' may stir up a prospects emotions and attract them to your business.

4) Location Words - If you are really stuck for name ideas then one option is to simply use the name of the area or city that you are working from. A local landmark can also work well. If you are targeting clients locally and feel that you would be unlikely to expand far beyond your immediate area than geographic words can be appropriate in a title. At the very least, your business name will be relevant and appealing to people in the area that you are targeting.

5) Unrelated Words - Sometimes businesses choose words for no particular reason at all and they work well. Strong words that attract attention or stimulate curiosity can be some of the best choices. Think of some random words that you come across in your reading or day to day activities. Take a random word like 'Butterfly' for example and think about what kind of image would come to mind if people saw an advertisement for 'Butterfly' Photography.

Inspiration can come from all around you if you keep your eyes open. Get the naming process off to a great start be getting lots of creative photography business name ideas to build upon.

Warm up is all about making friends with your clients. Nobody will buy off you if they don't like and trust you. That means you have to spend some time getting to know your clients on a personal level and let them get to know you personally before you can get into the all important part of fact finding. Your fact finding is the foundation on which your sale is built, but you have to earn the right to move into fact finding. That is done during the warm up period when you become your client's new best friend.

I'm often asked "how long should the warm up period last" And the answer I give is "As long as it takes" There is no set time for warming up a client. Each client will be different. Some will be very open and easy to talk to. This type of client can be warmed up in minutes and before you know you're laughing and joking like you've known each other for years. Other clients are very reserved and take what seems forever to start to relax with you and open up. What ever happens you should never move into fact finding until your client is ready, other wise you're just wasting your time and you would have been better off staying in warm up, enjoying the coffee and not even showing them your product.

Sales

A good gauge is your clients' body language. When you first meet you will see that your clients are normally seated stiffly with their arms and legs crossed, the lady will probably have her handbag held tightly on her lap and they could be slightly turned in towards each other and away from you. These are all defensive/protective body language positions. When you start to see that the arms become unfolded, the shoulders start to drop slightly and the lady puts her handbag on the floor or on another chair. Then you know your clients are starting to relax and feel comfortable in your company.

Take control right from the beginning with alternative choice closes like: "Would you like to sit in the sun or the shade?" "Would you prefer to be by the window or over in the corner where it's quieter?" People feel more comfortable when they're given a choice but not too much choice. For example, don't ask them what they want to drink you will get all sorts of answers. Ask them if they would like a hot drink or a cold drink, "Tea or Coffee?" They will not realise that you're controlling the answers and getting them used to making choices right from the word go. They will see it as you being very polite and well organised and that will make them feel more comfortable.

Once you have them seated and have ordered the drinks get back into relaxing your clients. People love to talk about themselves and their achievements. Remember your warm up should be 20% talking and 80% listening. Find a common interest but men don't be tempted to talk about football and leave the wife completely out of the conversation or you will have lost the sale before you even start.

There are two types of warm up, I call them, the bus stop warm up and the pub warm up. The bus stop warm up is like two people at a bus stop who make light conversation to pass the time but don't really get to know each other and most of the conversation goes over their heads. The pub warm up is where you start chatting to someone in a pub and before you know it you're buying each other drinks, chatting about things you would never discuss with a stranger and arranging to meet again next week for a game of darts. If you make all your warm up's pub warm up's I guarantee you will write more deals and you'll have a lot more fun while you're doing it!

Now go out tonight and practise just talking to people and finding out as much as you can about there hobbies, interests and favourite pastimes. Who knows, you might even make some new friends.

Timeshare Sales Techniques - Warm Up

Alan offers you a deeper look into some of the most effective Timeshare Sales Techniques and shares his simple but powerful selling skills gained from over 18 years personal experience of Selling Timeshare on the Costa del Sol. For more Timeshare sales and marketing techniques, visit Alan at:http://simplesalesandmarketing.blogspot.com A refreshing look at timeshare sales and marketing for today's Sales Professionals who have already learned you can never stop learning.

In simple terms, a sales process is a systematic approach involving a series of steps that enables a sales force to close more deals, increase margins and make more sales through referrals.

Sales

The 'series of steps' are customer-centric and help the sales force of a company to retain customers and increase sales volume as well as revenues. The 'series of steps' are systematic and not haphazard. Random acts produce random and uncertain results. In sales, random acts can be used occasionally, but a systematic and well-defined best practices approach can assure predictable results.

The establishment and implementation of a sales process with definable steps in a company could result in:

o Predictable Outcomes - desired and predictable outcomes through a series of actions that could lead to more sales and higher margins.

o Repeatable Activities - activities that should be repeated to obtain the desired outcomes again and again by any salesperson within the organization.

o Tangible Results - the outcomes that can be measured and compared.

o Relevancy for Others - A good sales process may be cloned to suit other organizations and they may emulate a successful sales process model. A group of companies may apply a particularly productive sales process to all or some of its divisions.

Simply having a sales process in place doesn't guarantee anything, just like simply buying and installing exercising equipment doesn't lead to a chiseled body. Proper use makes the difference. Actively using and a desire to become willing to implement a sales process could lead to more sales.

Normally a sales process involves the following key steps:

1. Prospecting

2. Qualifying

3. Proposal/presentation

4. Handling Objections

5. Closing

6. Follow-up for repeat business - referrals

Characteristics of an Effective Sales Process

Any ordinary sales process may produce the desired results in normal times. But an effective sales process has elasticity to accommodate extra ordinary situations. Is your company prepared to meet a sudden spike in demand for your products or services?

Does your sales process have the elasticity to deal with fluctuations in customer buying trends? Is your customer database current and up-to-date? Does your sales process take in to account the change in buyer tastes and preferences?

Effective sales processes stand the rigors of changing times and market conditions and produce the best possible results in most circumstances. An effective sales process produces sales results with unerring precision as a manufacturing unit produces finished products. An effective sales process manufactures customers. It's a 'customer manufacturing system'. Isn't that an awesome productivity tool for any company to own?

Just as a manufacturing unit uses raw materials, strategy, technology, and manpower to produce finished goods, a sales process can be viewed as an integrated method where manpower refers to the sales force, the product or service is the raw material, strategy refers to sales plans and methods, and technology refers to the latest communication and sales technologies.

A results oriented sales process accomplishes the following tasks:

o Identifying and qualifying leads so as to take in to account only those prospects that truly have the potential to buy according to their importance to assign the right resources to each of them. Successful salespeople spend more time with their top revenue producing accounts.

o Impress the customer with the uniqueness of the product/service and your company.

o Talk about the 'need' of the customer and develop customized value propositions to solve their business issue.

o Convince the customer that your company is the one that can take care of the 'need' and none can do it better than you.

o Assess the purchasing power of each potential customer.

o Larger percentage of profitable sales.

o Forge stronger bonds between the company and the customers through the sales staff.

o Exploring the possibility of up selling and repeat business. Ensure repeat business through adequate customer satisfaction and proper follow up. It costs five to eight times more to acquire a new customer than selling to an existing customer. (Source: Personal Selling Power Magazine)

How to Define A Sales Process for Sales Success!

Doug Dvorak helps companies and professionals achieve results through customized, creative and non-traditional sales training systems that are "one size fits one" and developed to the unique business needs and "sales pain points" of each client. He is available to speak on these topics.

While doing research for my various book projects, I came across these brilliant new small business ideas that I thought you would get a kick out of:

1. Fair Trade Vending Machines

\"ideas For Business\"

Fair Trade products are gaining momentum in normal grocery retail channels through coffee (close to 50% of coffee sales in Tesco in the UK apparently) and sugar so the next logical step is to offer Fair Trade products through vending machines - especially in socially conscious environments at first, such as colleges and universities. This actually gives people the physical means to do nifty stuff for our world rather than them just having the vague, unfulfilled desire to help.

Neat.

2. Self-Powering 'Eco-Nightclub'

Tapping into the need for energy consciousness in all aspects of our lives, one London disco - Surya - harnesses piezoelectricity (whatever that is) by generating 60% of its energy needs from its dance floor when danced on. The green funkster responsible is 35-year-old property developer Andrew Charalambous who believes that his new baby is the world's first ecological nightclub. The club's slogan? "All you have to do is dance to save the world".

Hard to argue with that.

3. Optical Illusion 'Truckvertising'

While advertising on large trucks like 'mobile billboards' has been around for ages, creating clever, striking and engaging optical illusions with those advertising spaces has not. What a brilliant way to promote your new small business in your area or as a small business in itself. The trucks themselves also serve as ads for such a brilliant small business.

4. Wearable Airbag For Motorcyclists

The "D-Air System" is a part of a specialized motorcycle jacket that deploys in 40 milliseconds when it senses that the rider is falling. Such a technology seems likely to become mandatory for all motorcyclists to wear given the legal necessity of cars to have airbags since 1989 in the US. This looks like a classic case of a neat tech device potentially saving many lives.

Designed for women, the Miss Army Knife, like its iconic male counterpart, features a range of tools in one utility device except for female use. Tools on the Miss Army Knife include tweezers, nail file, safety pin and corkscrew.

Brilliant name and product.

New Business Ideas? How Cool Are These 5 New Killer Small Business Ideas?

Click here now for a special free report on today's 25 Hottest New Small Business Ideas [http://www.Latest-Business-Ideas.com] - real new small business ideas making real money right now.

It is common knowledge that many sales people can calculate how much commission they have earned faster and more accurate than any super computer. Indeed, money is a key driving force that motivates most, and certainly for the more successful ones.

However, is money then the ONLY motivator, or are there anything else?

Sales

If you were to ask anyone why they want to be one, there will usually be 3 answers:

1. For the money (of course);

2. Being able to directly link their efforts to tangible results; and

3. Having the (relative) independence and flexibility in their jobs

As such, while money may be the key driver for most, it certainly is not the only one. They are also motivated by a sense of achievement, and the more successful ones usually have large egos as well.

If we were to look deep into what motivates people, here are 2 factors that we need to consider:

1. Are the rewards attractive (or punishment severe) enough?

2. Am I able to achieve it?

Avoiding Pain vs. Seeking Pleasure

While making money is a great pleasure for many people, including sales people, some are first motivated by avoiding the punishment of NOT achieving their monthly, quarterly or annual sales targets. Hence, it's a very common practice for sales people to "hide" potential contracts to "save them for the next financial period", rather than to risk NOT meeting the sales targets for that period.

Sales people are indeed masters of work flow optimization in this sense. However, this does not help you in getting results from your sales team, and sometimes deals may be lost due to the delays caused when sales people want to "save them for the next quarter".

When companies use money as the only motivator, it is also a riskier proposition. There's nothing to prevent competitors to use the same motivator to entice your best people (along with your best customers) to defect. While there may be some non-competitive clauses in employment contracts, these are seldom enforceable, especially in Asia.

As mentioned earlier, successful sales people usually have large (sometimes over-sized) egos. Nothing feeds the ego other than believing (correctly or otherwise) that you had singlehandedly contributed millions of dollars to your company's sales revenue. However, massaging the sales person's ego (either by making them superstars when they succeed, or "humiliating" them when they don't deliver the intended results) is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it will drive people to achieve super-human results. On the other hand, they may be so focused on their self-achievement that they become insensitive to issues such as:

Serving customer needs,

Maintaining healthy margins,

Ensuring cross department support and

other factors that will impact business results.

When the egos become over-sized, some people can have a false sense of "invincibility". Some live on past glories, even when current sales results are not as good or outstanding as before. To overcome this, Dell Computers have made sure that their egos are in check by just focusing on the present and future. Past performance mean nothing to Dell's sales managers, and a top performer is only as good as the next sale. They are as such motivated to maintain their "successful" status every single day.

Eventually, sales people get burnt out. Depending on the industry, they usually achieve their peak about 1 to 1.5 years after joining a company. How they perform beyond the peak period is a matter of how you motivate and nurture them.

Besides dishing out ever better incentives (usually money-related), many companies chose to promote their top sales to be sales managers. Unfortunately, both motivational strategies are not effective. When they feel burnt out, it's not an issue that can be resolved with money (or most incentives). In addition, only 15% of top sales people can be competent managers.

When they feel burnt out, it is usually they found that they are not further developing themselves or learning anything new anymore. Usually, they found they have reached some kind of plateau in getting better sales results, and the repetition of doing the same old thing is becoming boring to them as well.

This is also the phase when good people are the most vulnerable to defecting to your competitors. To overcome this, we will have to looking into other overlooked motivators.

Can I Do It?

As mentioned earlier, the other aspect of motivation is whether you feel you are able to do your job well.

In some industries where sales management practices tend to be Neanderthal (email me to find out which ones), the attrition of new sales hires are astonishingly high. These new hires are motivated by making more money, just like any successful sales person will be. However, due to the lack of proper training, coaching and guidance, as much as 90% of these new hires leave within 1 month. If they don't see brightness of the future, they'll just go.

While such companies do provide some level of sales training, as much as 87% of all sales training evaporates within 1 month of the training. And this statistic refer to companies with better sales management practices in place. For companies with weaker sales management, most of these training are outdated and don't really prepare the sales person to handle customers in the real world. Without a post-training supporting environment, the new hires feel overwhelmed and and helpless, and then they just leave.

When sales people find that they are not able to achieve better results, or net bigger deals, or improve margins, what they need now is support from management on how they can achieve breakthroughs. They know that if they can do better, the monetary incentives are all there waiting for them. What they really need is the right guidance and support them how they can do so.

Besides providing the usual training, here are other ways that managers can get their people proceed to the next level of performance:

Align sales strategies to market realities. Sometimes, due to rapid market changes, sales strategies mapped out 6 months ago may have already be outdated. A sales strategy re-alignment may help close more sales;

Provide recognition of improvements in sales process. While people are rewarded (or punished) based on results (sales targets), few sales managers actually recognize the improvements that sales people made in their sales process. If sales people made sales process improvements, it is very likely that this will lead to better results. Such improvements need to be recognized, reinforced and made as good examples for others to follow.

Motivating the Sales Force Without Using Money

In a nutshell, when people join the sales force, they may do so in the hopes of making more money. However, if you want to get them to perform to the next level of performance, you will need to improve their skills and abilities to achieve better results. In fact, management guru Ram Charan mentioned that if using incentives as the main means to get better performance from the sales team is an outdated approach

If you find isolated cases of poor performance from your team, then perhaps these few bad hats are just making excuses not to work hard. However, if you find that poor performance is widespread and pervasive in your sales force, then you, as manager, are making THE excuse for not providing the necessary support and guidance for your people.

c.j. is an Affiliate with HR Chally Group in China. Founded in 1973 through a grant from the U.S. Justice Department, the HR Chally Group provides predictive and compliant assessment system for management, sales, technical, customer care, and administrative talents. Unlike other assessment tools that just conducts personality profiles, Chally profiles what is exactly required by specific job descriptions and responsibilities and predict if these talents can succeed in future. As such, you'll get:

* Up to 40% reduction in staff turnover

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* 85%+ accuracy in identifying effective performers

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Internet marketing is really only as complicated as you make it. The real definition of internet marketing is selling online, getting your product or website out there to be seen. There are so many different ways that you can accomplish this. However, some of the ways are better than others, and some of them, well, you should just not use. You can end up blacklisted, have your IP banned, and other things you want to avoid. Let us take a look at a few different internet-marketing techniques and discuss the right and the wrong way to accomplish these tasks.

Message Board Posting Posting on a message board is a great way to get your website and products seen. You simply place a link to your site in your signature and post on relevant topics that you know about and that concern your business. However, there is definitely a right way and wrong way to do this. Below is a list of the things you should avoid when using message boards as a part of your internet marketing:

Marketing

· Telling people to look at your website or click on your link

· Spamming message boards with ads for your website

· Spamming other members with private messages about your website or business

As you can see, these things will get you in trouble really fast on a message board. First of all, there is no need to tell people to click on or look at your website if it is in your signature. People are nosey by nature, and when you make a post, and you know what you are talking about, they will automatically click on your link and check out your business.

Many message boards have sections for their members to place ads. If you want to place an ad on a message board, be sure that it is in an ad-approved section. Otherwise, you will find your posts deleted, and you might end up banned from the site.

Sending unsolicited messages to other members in private can even get you in loads of trouble. Never send messages to other members of a message board unless they have asked you for more info.

Sending Out Mass Emails When sending out mass emails, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this as well when you are internet marketing. Make sure that all of the emails that you are sending are to people that have requested them. They have opted in so to speak and that means that they are an actual lead. Scraping the internet for email addresses of just anyone and sending out your emails to those that did not request is a good way to get in trouble online. Spam is something that many do not tolerate, so be sure that you avoid it.

To be sure that you are sending out emails to those that want it, always have a link in your email so that the recipient can unsubscribe from them. In other words, if the person you are sending emails to does not want to receive them any longer, they will be able to be taken off your email list.

Be Careful Where You Get Your Leads From There are so many people online selling leads for any type of business and company. If you are interested in buying leads, make sure that you buy from someone that is well known for giving great leads. While every lead list that you come across will have a few duds on it. There are some reputable people online that do sell good leads. Find them; ask your internet-marketing friends for recommendations of where to buy leads. Word of mouth is your best resource.

Internet Marketing for Beginners - the Do's and the Don'ts

Carole Gardner is a Successful Level 3 Coastal Vacations Director. She enjoys helping others achieve their goals by working from home and offers Free Coaching and Consultations for anyone interested in a home based business at: 828-582-1965 http://www.YourBestCash.com

After 20 years of searching for the right home based opportunity and trying many types of businesses - she finally found success with Coastal Vacations. She's worked at home now full time for years and loves the money and the freedom. She understands that her success is due to several facts. First, that Coastal Vacations has a good product with real value and it's Travel...which is something people really want. It's a well established business with a solid 14 year track record. The business model has a high profit margin. It's not an MLM and... what's extremely important is that there is a proven marketing system in place the anyone can use and the training and support is second to none.

Attraction Marketing can help you build your business faster and with more stability in ANY PROGRAM. Attraction marketing is promoting a product or service in such a way that causes potential customers or prospects to want to hear about what you have to offer. In direct sales, it typically refers to promoting yourself as an expert, offering information that a prospect wants, and builds the basis of a real relationship with that prospect.

This the strategy of drawing highly targeted, highly motivated prospects into your sphere of influence. Highly qualified prospects is the life blood of any network marketing business.

Marketing

It provides valuable information to your customers. The more helpful and valuable your information is the greater the chance those customers will purchase from you.

Listen in as they divulge exactly how they achieved great success in this industry . This is exactly how I build my business. Listen daily to inner peace and wealth and discover within you the secret of how to open up the universal law of attraction in your life! I give this gift freely for you to manifest your desires in life.

Marketing is the process whereby demands for products, services and ideas are anticipated, managed and satisfied. The marketer does this by first analyzing the marketplace behavior of competitors and consumers and then designing product, promotion, pricing and distribution strategies that will be accepted in the marketplace.

This is about acquiring and retaining customers for products and services by delivering customer value. It is about having a finger on the pulse of the consumer so that it is possible to identify and create needs, and to cater to them effectively and efficiently. Marketing topics of current concern to faculty and students. Offered only when allowed by faculty availability and sufficient student interest.

It is also a war of words and the company with the best words always wins. We'll make sure you win! Marketing plans can feel like a pain in the neck (not to mention other body parts). Small business owners, and others without a boss to impose a due date, often find themselves "too busy" to complete a marketing plan or update the existing one.

Internet marketing your enterprise or small business can improve the search engine placement of a web site, getting it a higher ranking and perhaps generating more internet traffic to the site. Internet Retailer reports that 18.7% of bulk e-mail senders don't even know what their open rates are.

Marketing is analysis, and a sound marketing strategy is based on this analysis. What type of analysis are we talking about? Marketing is full of jargon. And marketing agencies are full of people fluent in jargon. It is not an event, but a process . It has a beginning, a middle, but never an end, for it is a process.

It is changing in radically interesting ways. I do think that marketers are being called upon to draw together the people who make products and the people who use them. Marketing is a complex skill with many different tactics and approaches. Responsible Marketing Consulting Services can help you create, execute and measure the success of a variety of marketing activities. Marketing is not sales. The sale is the exchange between the organization and the constituent or the organization and the donor.

This is an important component of a business enterprise that helps in increasing an organization?s profitability. If a company has not done enough marketing, then it might become .

Before I define professional selling. Let's look at some of the related professions. Below are some definitions of professions/occupations that relate to professional selling from Wikipedia:

Marketing is defined as an ongoing process of planning and executing the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion) for products, services or ideas to create exchange between individuals and organizations

Advertising is defined as a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service.

Public relations is defined as the practice of managing the flow of information between an organization and its audiences.

Sales Promotions is defined as the pre-determined actions designed to increase consumer demand, stimulate market demand or improve product availability for a limited time (i.e., contests, point of purchase displays, rebates, free travel, and sales incentives.)

Sales

What about the sales profession?

Notice in the above definitions, the profession is *not* defined as the individual. For example, marketing isn't defined as "people who market." Yet, the sales profession is often explained as "individuals who sell." Therefore, selling shouldn't be defined in this manner. Notice also, that the above professions are *not* defined by the activities of those individuals. In other words, the profession of advertising isn't defined as "placing ads on television." Therefore, selling shouldn't be defined in this manner.

Academically, selling is thought of as a part of marketing, however, the two disciplines are completely different. Sales departments often form a separate grouping in a corporate structure, employing individuals who specialize in sale specific roles. While the sales process refers to a systematic process of repetitive and measurable milestones, the definition of the sales "profession" doesn't exist (until now with this article).

So the questions become:

Who is "in" the profession and who is not?

How does selling relate to marketing, advertising, promotions, and public relations?

What shared competencies do individuals within the sales profession need?

How do these competencies align to roles in terms of focus and differentiation?

A definition should provide a meaning. To determine the meaning of the sale profession, it is useful to determine what the sales profession *must* contain.

The following three tenets are required for professional selling:

The focus of the sales profession centers on the human agents involved in the exchange between buyer and seller

A specific set of sales skills and knowledge are required to facilitate the exchange of value between buyers and sellers

Within these three tenets the following definition of profession selling is offered by the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD):

Professional Selling is:

"The holistic business system required to effectively develop, manage, enable, and execute a mutually beneficial, interpersonal exchange of goods and/or services for equitable value."

Note: this definition was published by ASTD in 2009.

What does this definition accomplish?

First, it creates a definition of world class selling. An organization wishing to benchmark its selling effectiveness can leverage the above definition to clearly understand strengths and weaknesses. Without such a definition, most adjustments to the selling team are arbitrary and subjective. By understanding the system's view required for selling effectiveness, organizations can look at indidual sales team members as well as sales team processes and tools and how they align to the buyer.

Second, it allows for more consistent results in performance through the clear establishment of roles regarding who is "in" and who is "out" of professional selling. For example, if it doesn't involve a human agent, it is not within the sales profession -- it's a marketing function with a transaction (i.e., a "sale"). For this definition, sales operations, sales recruiters, and sales trainers are "in" the profession because they possess unique skills outside of their regular job titles. They posses knowledge and skill that is unique to enabling the definition.

Third, the definition lays the foundation for sales talent management/people strategies. With such a definition, sales development employees can create learning solutions that fit the unique aspects of a sales culture. At the same time, front-end recruitment strategies and more clearly tie to retention strategies.

Fourth, it helps organization on exemplary performance. By setting a bar with such a definition, organizations don't have to settle for mediocre sales effectiveness. They can use the definition to help bridge the gap between sales capacity and sales team competency.

The Definition of Sales - Professional Selling Defined

Dr. Brian Lambert is a senior analyst for Forrester Research serving Technology Sales Enablement Professionals. He covers the strategy, processes, and execution associated with helping sales team members achieve their desired business outcomes through more effective collaboration and behavior change. Brian researches key challenges associated with sales enablement, including helping sales team member's effectively model customer needs and map solution capabilities to those needs within each sales conversation. He also researches the impact of today's complex and changing business environment on portfolio, marketing, and sales team members as they design; implement; and reinforce training, talent management, leadership development, performance, and adoption strategies needed to improve the skill, expertise, and results of team members.

Door to door sales is a tough business involving a lot of walking, talking and what turns most people off; Rejection. Being rebuffed time after time after time can really make this type of selling very hard and if you are the kind of sales person that thrives on success they may be so few and far between that this becomes depressing and not worthwhile. There are many door to door sales tips and tricks used by great sales people but the real building blocks for success come from motivation, planning and persistence.

1. Motivation Tips

Sales

Staying motivated from street to street, door to door and day to day is an ongoing challenge. It is said this sort of sales is just a numbers game, the more you knock the more chances you have to get a sales and while this is true it is only a part of the truth. If you knock unsuccessfully for too long it can get to you and the next call you will not be as lively or persuasive, having high motivation and energy throughout the day is essential for being persuasive and making each call count. The first thing you must do is not take any rejection personally, you are in an industry where you are selling to people who are not actively looking for your product and do not know you are coming, the conversion rate of sales is very low and you must expect this. Just think that every unsuccessful call has enabled you to get to the next call that may be a winner quicker! Another way to stay motivated is to keep track of sales but do not keep track of unsuccessful calls, only focus on positives not negatives and you will find success comes more easily, celebrate each sale, revel in it and stay on top of your game!

2. Planning Tips

While this may be a numbers game not all calls are equal so the adage of more is better is somewhat false. Good planning and research can help you to find the most profitable calls to focus on instead of just calling on whatever doors come your way. That also being said too much planning and too little calling is also a recipe for disaster. Choose your locations well for your products, some areas simply will not generate the same sales as other due to demographics. Also the time of day you call is important, calling at the wrong time can lead to a wasted call. You must strike a balance between numbers and quality of calls for a good sales conversion rate.

3. Persistence Tips

Persistence can be a double edged sword; I was once told that the difference between a good sales person and a great sales person is persistence. However later I learned that the difference between a great sale person and an annoying harasser is but small degrees apart. While you must be persistent in sales there is also the danger of following dead end too far and wasting time. If there is no chance of a sale why continue to try to make them come around? If you are pressing too hard you simple put people off, the art of listening is more important in this situation or even just giving up. That right, persisting when the outcome will not change is not good! If you apply your persistence where it can get results you will go far but you must prioritise calls and customers quickly or be stuck in dead end avenues. Having more time for more calls can often yield better results than simply trying not to take no for an answer! Remember that door to door sales is about quality and quantity, sticking with a low quality call means you have no quality and you are missing out on more quantity!

There are heaps of other small tips you can use from your opening to your closing to overall door to door coverage. Keep in mind these overall concepts for running your territory and you will be able to increase your overall sales however and more door to door sales tips will come to you in the process of your work!

3 Door to Door Sales Tips For Better Selling

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Developing an innovative spirit in the workplace doesn't require extraordinary measures. As a manager, you can experiment with simple ideas that merely break routines, allowing your employees permission to drop the facade that we all don to some degree when we punch the clock. Here are a few ideas that will help you lighten things up for your staff and get their creative juices flowing, if you have the courage to take the leap.

1. Dart Board

\"ideas For Business\"

Start every staff meeting by allowing everyone a shot at the dart board. Best shot gets to kick off the meeting, appoint the moderator, or tell what they did over the weekend. Starts things off on a playful note and gets your people out of their chairs. For safety purposes, stick with the magnetic or Velcro variety.

2. Colored Markers for the Flip Chart

Sounds simple, but we are programmed from an early age to correlate the amalgamation of colors with the awakening of our imaginations. If you need further evidence of this phenomenon, observe a classroom full of first graders the next time a teacher instructs them to put away their math books and take out their crayons. And experts agree that the key to creativity lies in the ability to awaken the child inside each of us.

3. Music Creativity

Ask each team member to write a 4-line verse to a song that relates to their job duties, hobbies, business ideas, etc. Go around the room and ask them to sing, rap, or simply recite (military cadence perhaps) their verse. Print the

compilation in the next company newsletter to get a little PR for your department or office (others in the organization might want to transfer in when they realize that you've given your staff permission to have fun).

4. Music Creativity II

Ask your staff to bring in a CD with a song that describes their personality, work attitude, or how their weekend went. Play excerpts before the meeting for a laugh.

5. To Serve Mankind

Ask your staff to convey what they did over the weekend that was a service to another person, charitable organization, or noble cause. Vote to determine whose action was most heroic and award a gift certificate to the winner, let them leave work early on Friday, or take a longer than usual lunch break. This will encourage your staff to think of new ways to develop a sense of community. It will also help your people feel good about their co-workers, get to know them better, and give them a sense of pride in the organization.

6. Vocabulary Expansion

Ask your team to bring a rarely used or obscure word to the next meeting. Have them use it in a context that is applicable to your business.

7. Memory Exercise

Read a list of 10 or 15 things, preferably something related to your business, your industry, or to a customer and give an award to the person who can commit the most items to memory. This exercise can help your staff become more familiar with your organization and with your customers. Memory development is also a key to developing new customer relationships that will help your business prosper.

8. "If I Ran This Place..."

Ask your staff what they would consider the ideal job, the ideal workplace, and the ideal location. You can't transform your place into utopia, but you might gain some insight into feasible, marginal changes that will improve things. Now that you have them thinking without barriers, ask them what they would do first or different if they ran the company, office, or department. You'll be surprised by the answers.

9. Show and Tell

Have your staff bring something that they've created, that they are proud of, or from their childhood that the group would find interesting or funny. Demonstrate an interesting or unusual talent, perhaps. We loved this game when we were in kindergarten, and for some reason they made us stop playing as we got older.

10. Top 10 Lists

Until David Letterman decides to pursue intellectual property infringement, go ahead and try this one. Give a topic at your staff meeting, and ask for the answers the following week. Remember to keep it clean and non-offensive. Have your staff rank the answers and use a point system to determine the winner.

We would never ask our employees for quality without offering the resources, direction, systems, and commitment to develop procedures that ensure improvement in that area. Yet we ask employees for creativity or to "think outside the box" all of the time without giving another thought as to how to initiate the creative process. Take the first step and give your staff permission to shake things up a bit at your office. You're likely to see some changes - for the better!

Copyright 2005, La Dolce Vita Enterprises, LLC

Business Meeting Creativity Ideas

Craig Cortello is the President and founder of La Dolce Vita Enterprises, a consulting and training firm that assists companies in creating productive and imaginative work environments that encourage innovative business solutions. He is also the National Sales Manager of Trinity Consultants, a nationwide environmental consulting firm and an accomplished musician. He credits much of his success in the business world to his creative spirit that was cultivated through exposure to music and the arts.

Craig is a proud resident and native of the New Orleans metropolitan area, and a Hurricane Katrina survivor!

Everyone today knows the importance of marketing for the success of any business. As important as it is, marketing is not a simple task that anyone can rise to any day and succeed. There is a big risk in that a poor marketing strategy will leave the business in a worse condition than it found it. That is why it is necessary to have good plan before setting out to market your business. Below is an example of a marketing plan. It is just an outline of the essential components of the plan.

The target population

Marketing

Highlight who the marketing plan will be targeting as the potential customer. Point out in detail the age and preferences of that target population. During this stage, you need to get hold of all the data regarding the product usage trend of the population you are targeting so that you can know exactly what their needs are.

The marketing message

This will depend on the type of population that you are targeting. Once you understand their needs and age, these are the points to keep in mind in order to determine what message will effectively reach them with impact. The language will differ with age, culture and time. Essentially, the marketing message should be catchy and attention grabbing. Keep it short, straight to the point and as interesting as you can make it. A good example would be "Win a free phone with every purchase of..."

Marketing strategy

This is the most crucial part of the marketing plan. This is where you highlight what media you will use to communicate your marketing message. You need to keep in mind your target population during this stage as different media would be appropriate for different kinds of population. You also need to figure out what benefits you will give to your potential customers. Marketing is about telling the customers how they will benefit from the product with an aim of convincing them that the product in question is the best.

Implementation and follow up

This is the last and very important stage. You draw up a plan of how you will implement the marketing strategies you have come up with. This is a plan of how you will roll out the plan till the end. Then you will need to follow up on every stage of the marketing plan in order to evaluate its results, in terms of how number of sales has changed. By so doing you will be able to determine what needs to be improved and how.

Marketing Plan Example: Basic Outline

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It doesn't matter whether you run your own business, are an employee or job seeker, if you market yourself well, you will achieve success. Marketing is about finding your unique abilities and being able to communicate these to others effectively.

You may have heard of the saying "people buy people", so take the opportunity to let people know why they should promote you, employ you or buy from you. Here are my tips to market yourself effectively:

Market

1. Write down a list of your strengths and skills and use these as selling points when you meet new people. What is unique about you? What sets you apart from anyone else? How can you make sure you market yourself at every opportunity?

2. Develop a succinct message that you can share with others that takes about 10-20 seconds to deliver. In business, this is known as an elevator speech - who you are and what you can do for others. Design and practice your message.

3. Remember that every time you communicate, this is the opportunity to make an impact. Make sure that anything you put in writing, such as a letter or CV is clear, concise and easy to read. And remember to include the strengths you have identified above.

4. You also communicate by what you wear and whether it is appropriate for the occasion. You may wish to research the dress code and give yourself plenty of time to decide what to wear. Choose your outfit wisely with the appropriate accessories, and remember to clean your shoes!

5. Make a great first impression. People tend to make a first impression of you within the first few minutes of meeting you. When you meet new people, use appropriate eye contact, a firm handshake, and smile!

6. Preparation is key. Whether you are going to a networking event or a job interview, it is important to prepare in advance. Plan the journey before you leave, know who you are going to meet and plan what you are going to say.

What do you do to market yourself effectively? Let me know - email me today!

How to Market Yourself Effectively

Copyright Karen Williams 2008. All Rights Reserved

Karen Williams is a Personal Development Coach and runs her own coaching practice, Self Discovery Coaching. She has over ten years experience of working in Human Resources, training, coaching and management roles and is a Chartered member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

For more information and to sign up for the free Self Discovery newsletter, go to http://www.selfdiscoverycoaching.co.uk/ and you will receive a free career planning report to help you to be happier at work.

Flea markets are great retail marketplaces. Flea market vendors are in a marketplace where the customers have a made a predetermined decision to buy.

Unlike people in malls and people walking in the streets, flea market customers are more than just browsers. They are serious customers who have a trip to the flea market to buy products.

\"ideas For Business\"

But just because flea market shoppers want to buy, does not mean that they will buy from you.

To make sure that they do buy from you, I have compiled some great flea market insider business ideas. Use these strategies and your flea market sales will go through the roof.

Flea Market Business Idea #1

Make your booth stand out. Flea market shoppers are surrounded by hundreds of flea market vendors. They start developing tunnel vision as they walk through the isles. You need to make your booth stand out so that shoppers will focus on your booth. One way is to use bright table cloths and a bright tent. Yellow and white are great colors since the sun will reflect on them and catch the attention of people.

Flea Market Business Idea #2

Flea market vendors need variety. Even if you have the world's lowest price on socks, your customers can only buy so many socks from you. If you want to increase your flea market sales you need to diversify your products. There is definitely a correlation between flea market sales and product variety.

Flea Market Business Idea #3

Professionalism is key. Just because you are selling at a flea market doesn't meant that you can drop your professionalism. Flea market shoppers want to be treated right. They will give their business to the most organized and polite flea market vendors. After all, who doesn't want to be treated well.

Market penetration pricing is a quick-entry price strategy that assumes low price will gain high sales volume which, in turn, will result in lowering costs. This strategy is used in price sensitive markets. For example, consider the market for DVD players; it is a high volume market, it has a high number of competitors, the costs to produce DVD players have fallen, and new and/or changing technology allow businesses to rapidly introduce new features and benefits on new models. The businesses that introduce DVD players quickly, sell high volume at low or reasonable prices, are following a market penetration strategy.

Businesses using market penetration pricing are usually trying to penetrate the market by growing their share of the market. They assume that the lowest price will win market share. Make sure that if you use this pricing strategy that you test your market, your price sensitivity and your price elasticity or in-elasticity first. Also be sure to do your market research to gain an understanding of how your competitors will react to this penetration pricing strategy. For example, your low price may cause your competition to lower price, then you will lower your price again, and so on - no one wins with a strategy like this.

\"market Research\"

But your market penetration pricing strategy can also be a deterrent for new competitors who are considering entering the market. When they see how low your pricing is and realize that their margins will be low and the risk of gaining market share for new entrants is high, they might choose not to enter the market. For your business to be successful with this strategy, it must have the capability to enjoy the economies of scale that high volume will bring and be the low cost provider in the market.

If you are an existing business and your competitor is following a market penetration strategy, do a thorough market research assessment of your capabilities:

Can you drive your costs down?

Can you produce high volume?

Do you want to sell your product at a low price (and hope volume sales will get you both the market share and the profitability you want)?

If you answer no to any of these questions, don't follow this penetration strategy (or at least, consider this strategy very carefully). However, if you are a new business considering this strategy in a new, or scarcely populated, market, focus on how to drive your costs down and your efficiencies up.

Whatever pricing strategy you use, make sure that you specify it in your marketing mix plan and write down the reasons you chose that strategy. Then, at least on an annual basis at the time of your business plan update, review your chosen marketing strategy (including your pricing strategy) and ensure it is the right strategy for the product life cycle, for the market conditions, for your buyers, and for the competitive environment at that time.

Making a book report can be simple but coming up with a good new creating unique way to present your book report can be challenging.

Here are 10 book report project ideas to choose from.

\"ideas For Business\"

1. Make a small version of your book or a mini-book. Make sure to create illustrations and pictures from the book of the time lines in the book.

2. Show the similarities and differences between two books like a fiction and a nonfiction book. Make sure they are the same topic.

3. Create a trivia game and ask questions about the people in the book.

4. You can do answers about the main topics in the book and do a presentation giving the questions.

5. Do a crossword and word search about things from the book. This is really fun.

6. Make a top 10 reasons to read this book list and start with #10 and work up to the #1 reason to read the book.

7. Create a power point presentation on the book and use a projector and laptop to present.

8. Make a bulletin board about your book. Cut out pictures you draw and thumb tack them to the board or tape them up there. Write up articles that look like a newspaper article stating a highlight or interesting storyline from the book and cut out and paste to the bulletin board.

9. You can dress up as the character in the book and read a passage. This is great if the book is scary and you can dress up with a long gown and cape and use a lot of energy and excitement in reading the book.

10. Do you have any other suggesting readings? Do this book report based on all the good book reads that are similar and should not be missed.

With all these ideas you can surely create a unique book report just personalized to you and your style.

1. Hire a comedian who can poke some fun at your CEO, do an impersonation of him, or even make light of your industry as a whole.

2. Hire a magician that can incorporate your sales message into his magic, or cut your CEO or receptionist in half. He might even be able to vanish the CEO, much to the delight of the employees.

\"ideas For Business\"

3. Book a vocal improvisation group to take requests and spin them into a funny performance.

4. Have a musician write a song about your company and play it at the event.

5. Hire a celebrity impersonator to come to the event and sign autographs and take pictures with guests.

6. Book a caricature artist to draw personalized sketches of each employee at the company. These are fun souvenirs as well.

7. Book a digital caricature artist who composes his or her photos digitally on a computer right in front of your eyes. They can even personalize the backdrop to reflect the company

or event. This is a great souvenir for the guests to take home.

8. Book a balloon artist that makes the life size figures such as Disney characters, scenery like palm trees, huge company logos, and more. The balloon artist can do these figures with everyone watching making it an experience to watch the balloons being put together.

9. How about a strolling juggler who can mingle through the cocktail hour.

10. Book a stilt walker to make a big announcement for your company at an annual conference or meeting. It is a fun and guaranteed way to get everyone's attention.

11. A clown is a great option for events with children or families. There are also evil clowns for events with no kids or around Halloween.

12. Book a palm reader to make psychic predictions about the future of the company or to tell people's fortunes.

13. Hire a reality TV star to interact with guests. They are far less money than big time Hollywood celebrities.

14. Book a tribute band to play the songs of an artist that is popular among the guests.

15. An a cappella group can perform on stage or stroll through the event during a cocktail hour or dinner.

16. Hire a symphony orchestra to play at the event. You will need to consider space requirements for this type of an act.

17. You could have a mime act out a corporate message to employees or event customers.

18. Book a DJ to play only requested songs or songs from a certain era such as the 80's

19. Break dancers can be lots of fun. They are generally young, hip, and add a sense of youth to an event.

20. How about a mariachi band for some festive music.

21. A steel drum band can be a nice addition to a high end gala event.

22. Booking a fire eater can be a great way to kick off the launch of a hot new product or service.

23. Carolers can be nice addition to any holiday event.

24. A living statue can be a great idea for almost any event. Make sure you ask for a living statue that matches closely to the theme of your event or meeting.

25. Booking a cirque act is a great idea when the event needs something remarkable or to get a buzz going. Make sure you can accommodate for the space some of the cirque acts require.

26. A snake charmer is a unique way break up a meeting or attract a crowd at an event.

27. Hire a mentalist to read the minds of the guests. This is creative way that the performer can interact with the audience.

28. How about an ice sculptor who can sculpt the company logo or a corporate message live while people watch it being carved.

29. Acrobats provide a lively addition to an event.

30. Singing waiters are an a cappella group dressed as formal waiters. This catches guests off guard and is an offbeat way to infuse entertainment into the dining experience.

31. Ballroom dancers can be popular with all the dance themed TV shows like Dancing with the Stars and others.

32. A barbershop quartet is an a cappella group where all the members wear red and white costumes, similar to that of a barbershop pole. This has a nostalgic feel to it.

33. Dueling pianos are a fantastic way to get the audience involved with nonstop entertainment

34. You could have your employees put on the entertainment by having a talent show and getting everyone in the company involved including the CEO. You will want to record this so everyone can watch it later on, or you may even want to send them all home with a copy, or mail it to them afterwards. You could also post them on YouTube for all to comment on.

35. A marching band can be an official way to introduce somebody special at the event. It can also be a way of showing that the company does not take themselves too seriously if they book a fun themed marching band.

36. Book the 60 second novelist. He comes with his own table and a manual typewriter and asks guests a few questions to get a sense of who they are, and he types out a short life story in one minute. He even binds it so guests can take it home. The story is funny, imaginative and true. This is a fun way to get people to open up and share their stories and get to know each other.

37. Face painters are a neat way to entertain the younger kids.

38. A choir can be a nice way to make a grandiose statement.

39. How about an opera singer for a classy event or gala.

40. A graffiti artist that can create a painting of someone or something with a large crowd watching. Some artists do this type of thing super fast, making it intriguing to watch.

41. Book hula dancers to mingle on the dance floor with guests.

42. How about Polynesian dancers to inject a unique culture into the event.

43. A ventriloquist can be a great entertainment choice that can play well for kids or adults depending on the performer.

44. Hire a dynamic storyteller who can weave a message about the goal of the event or meeting.

45. An escape artist is a dramatic way to convey messages such as, escaping or breaking free of limiting beliefs and constraints. This can be a nice way to motivate employees to achieve a goal.

46. Booking a hypnotist can provide a serious element or a comedic one.

47. A rapper could perform a comedic rap specifically written about the company. Some rappers can even improvise this on the spot.

48. A puppeteer is another option for younger children to keep them entertained.

49. Hire a sword swallower to attract the crowd or if it fits into the theme.

50. You can always hire a real Hollywood celebrity to attract the attention and buzz you need or try booking a couple of smaller celebrities to make better use of your funds and get more celebrity drawing power.

51. You might want to book a political impersonator that is popular such as Sarah Palin or Barack Obama.

52. A harpist can add a light musical touch without loud music. This would be nice for a laid back, high end atmosphere.

53. How about having multiple celebrity tribute artists on stage performing a bunch of hits songs from the various artists they impersonate.

54. Have a stage where different executives from the company do karaoke for a variety of songs.

55. Finally, the best way to guarantee a creative entertainment experience is to have the performer or performers customize their acts to your event or meeting. This creates a memorable experience guests are sure to remember for a long time.

55 Creative Entertainment Ideas For Your Next Event Or Meeting

Joshua Gair is the President of Impact Entertainment, a full service entertainment booking company outside Orlando, FL, where they book all types of talent from local acts to big name celebrities for various events worldwide. Their clients include Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and many more resorts and businesses. For more info, go to http://www.impactentertains.com.

This article is meant to be a brief review and reminder of some valuable yet often bypassed techniques to collect data on international markets and consumers.

When thinking of market research, surveys are most likely the first technique that comes to ones mind. However, surveys are a quantitative research and, in order to understand customer behavior and the social and cultural context in which our business will operate, we will need to perform some qualitative research as well.

\"market Research\"

Qualitative methods are most certainly a more appropriate option when in need of researching patterns and attitudes in customer behavior, understand the depth of the environment around the customer, and understand the cultural characteristics then influence a customer - especially when the marketer is not familiar with the country of culture.

There are certain situations where qualitative research alone can provide the marketer with all insights needed to make decisions and take actions; while in some other cases quantitative research might be needed as well.

We will stop by the main qualitative techniques and see how and where they can be employed in international marketing.

Craig and Douglas (2000), mention three major types of qualitative data collection techniques:

- observational and quasi-observational techniques;

- projective techniques and depth interviews;

- creative group sessions (synectics).

1. Observational and quasi-observational techniques

Observational techniques involve direct observation of phenomena (in our case, consumers' behavior) in their natural settings. Observational research might be somehow less reliable than quantitative research yet it is more valid and flexible since the marketer is able to change his approach whenever needed.

Disadvantages are given by the limited behavioral variables and the fact that such data might not be generalizable - we can observe a customer's behavior at a given moment and situation but we cannot assume all further customers will act the same.

Quasi-observational techniques are reported to have increased in usage over the past decades, due to the large scale employ of surveillance cameras within stores. Such techniques cost less than pure observational ones since costs associated with video surveillance and taping are far lower than a researcher's wage; the tape can be viewed and analyzed at a later time, at the marketer's convenience. When performing videotaping of consumers' behaviors, they can be asked to give comments and insights upon their thoughts and actions while the conversation itself can be recorded and be further analyzed.

Pure observation: the marketer watches behavior of customers in real-life situation, either in situ or by videotaping the consumers (less intrusive). Videotaping can be specifically recommended when studying patterns of different cultures, since we can easily compare behaviors taped and highlight similarities and / or differences.

Trace measures: consist in collecting and recording traces of consumers' behavior. Such traces can be fingerprints or tear of packages, empty packages, garbage cans analysis and any other ways a marketer can imagine (it's all about creativity here!). In eMarketing, trace measures come under the form of recorded visits and hits - there are numerous professional applications that can help an emarketer analyze the behavior of visitors on his company's website.

Archival measures: can be any type of historical records, public records, archives, libraries, collections of personal documents etc. Such data can prove to be of great use in analyzing behavioral trends and changes in time. Marketers can also identify cultural values and attitudes of a population at a given moment by studying mass media content and advertisement of the timeframe questioned.

Entrapment measures: those are indirect techniques (by comparison to the previously mentioned ones) and consist in asking the respondent to react to a specific stimulus or situation, when the actual subject of investigation is totally different. The marketer plants the real stimulus among many fake ones and studies reactions. The method is quite unobtrusive and the marketer can gather valuable, non-reactive facts. When the respondent becomes aware of the true subject under investigation (s)he might change the behavior and compromise the study.

Protocols: are yet another observational marketing research technique which asks respondents to think out loud and verbally express all their thoughts during the decision-making process. Protocols are of great value for determining the factors of importance for a sale and they can be collected in either real shopping trips or simulated ones.

2. Projective techniques

Such techniques are based on the respondent's performance of certain tasks given by the marketer. The purpose is to have the consumers (respondents) express their unconscious beliefs through the projective stimuli; to express associations towards various symbols, images, signs.

Projective market research techniques can take the following forms, presented below.

Collages - used to understand lifestyles and brand perceptions, respondents are asked to assemble a collage using images and symbols from selected sets of stimuli or from magazines and newspapers of their choice.

Picture completion - certain pictures can be designed to express and visualize the issue under study and respondents have to make associations and / or attribute words to the given pictures.

Analogies and metaphors are used when a larger range of projection is needed, with more complexity and depth of ideas and thoughts on a given brand, product, service, organization. The respondents are asked to freely express their association and analogies towards the object being studied; or they can be asked to select from a set of stimuli (e.g. photos) those that fit the examined subject.

Psycho-drawing is a technique that allows study participants to express a wide range of perceptions by making drawings of what they perceive the brand is (or product, service).

Personalization consists in asking the respondents to treat the brand or product as if it is a person and start making associations or finding images of this person. This technique is especially recommended in order to understand what kind of personality consumers assign to a brand / product / service.

3. In-depth interviews

These techniques of marketing research put an accent on verbal communication and they are efficient especially when trying to discover underlying attitudes and motivations towards a product or a specific market / consumption situation.

Individual in-depth interviews are performed on a person-to-person environment and the interviewer can obtain very specific and precise answers. Such interviews are common in B2B practices of market research, for example when a company conducts a research about a product among their existing corporate customers.

Interviews can be conducted by phone or via internet-based media, from a centralized location: this can greatly reduce costs associated with market research and the results are pretty much as accurate as the face-to-face ones. The only disadvantage would be the lack of non-verbal, visual communication.

Focus groups are basically discussions conducted by a researcher with a group of respondents who are considered to be representative for the target market.

Such meetings are usually held in an informal setting and are moderated by the researcher. Videotaping the sessions is common these days, and it can add more sources of analysis at a later time.

Focus groups are perhaps the ideal technique, if available in terms of costs and time, to test new ideas and concepts towards brands and products; to study customers' response to creative media such as ads and packaging design or to detect trends in consumers' attribute and perception. One of the important advantages of focus groups is the presence of several respondents in the same time, providing a certain synergy. Disadvantages refer mainly to the costs involved and the scarcity of good professionals to conduct the interviews and discussions.

To conclude, we have to keep in mind just how important non-survey data collection techniques are in today's market research. Not only they provide more depth of analysis but they can be performed in significantly less time than surveys and they're more suitable to be employed during the exploratory phases of international marketing research.

Overview on Qualitative Data Collection Techniques in International Marketing Research

Otilia Otlacan is a young professional specialized in eMarketing and eBusiness. She is currently working as independent Marketing Consultant and she is also teaching her own online course in Principles of eMarketing.